Parent: Distant family ties not the only reason Hextall bet on Sanheim

Newly drafted Travis Sanheim stands with team officials — including distant family connection Ron Hextall — after the Flyers selected him 17th overall in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday night. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA — And with the first selection of Ron Hextall’s general managing tenure, the Philadelphia Flyers select ... not any of the guys they were expected to draft.

Instead, they took Hextall’s second cousin by way of ... what?

“My mom’s stepbrother is actually related to Ron Hextall,” fresh Flyers prospect Travis Sanheim said Friday night after he was made a surprise No. 17 overall selection at the NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. “So my mom grew up knowing Ron Hextall. I did have a little bit of a connection, but we obviously haven’t seen him for a long time. It’s great being back and seeing him.”

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It was great for Sanheim, and not-so great for two other more accomplished juniors with local team ties, too. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo and top European forward skating prospect Kasperi Kapanen were both still on the board when the Flyers’ turn to choose came along. Judging by the reaction of Cousin Ron, they probably were never in it.

“We really liked him,” Hextall said of the 18-year-old Sanheim, whose alleged 180 pounds are spread thinly over a 6-3 and perhaps still growing frame. But he moves fast in many ways.

“The second half of the year,” Hextall added, “the kid just rose and rose and rose.”

He played midget hockey in Manitoba just last year (Hextall’s home province, by the way) with twin brother Taylor. He succeeded in winning a spot with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Junior Hockey League for the 2013-14 season. Halfway through it, he was ranked at No. 167 among North American skaters by Central Scouting. By their final rankings, he had moved to No. 53 in that category, and No. 15 among defensemen.

Then came the IIHF World under-18s tournament, and he came out of nowhere to be a Team Canada leader as it captured a bronze medal.

That’s when the scouts really began to circle. As Hextall said, the kid’s a fast learner — no matter who he’s related to.

“If you look at him, he’s a young boy, but there’s a lot of upside,” Hextall said. “He’s going to fill out, be a lot bigger and we didn’t feel at that point we could go by him.”

Ah, but circumstances almost prevented Hextall’s old family ties from coming full circle with this prospect he liked so much. That would be the distraction of almost trading up to snag the No. 1 overall pick, which the Florida Panthers only decided Friday afternoon would remain theirs.

Last year, they skipped top-shelf defensive prospect Seth Jones.

This year, they didn’t dare bypass can’t-miss defensive prospect Aaron Ekblad. But that was only after they gave the Flyers a reluctant final pass.

“They were close,” Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said of the Flyers’ effort to woo the No. 1 overall pick out of his camp. “We had conversations with Ron, and it teased us. It was not an easy decision. They were willing ... well, they were close.”

There was talk that Vinny Lecavalier would have been heading back to Florida, only southeast of where he used to play. And that Brayden Schenn (and certainly the No. 17 overall pick) would have gone with him. Like Hextall, Tallon wouldn’t confirm any names, since the deal — one of four offers he said he’d pondered during the course of Thursday and Friday — wouldn’t be consummated.

“Probably the Philly deal would have helped us presently and quicker to get (better),” Tallon said. “But we wanted to continue doing what we’re doing.”

It’s difficult to predict the future of teenage hockey players, but there doesn’t seem to be much doubt that Ekblad will someday soon be a force to be reckoned with. Then again, why not this kid Travis? No matter who he knows or is related to?

“I didn’t even know that until a couple of months ago,” Hextall said. “My mother told me. She said, ‘Do you realize that Travis Sanheim’s mom is Shelly, who you knew when you were a kid?’ I said I had absolutely no idea. It’s an interesting thing.”

Considering it was Ron Hextall’s first draft choice as an NHL general manager, isn’t it also interesting that his mom knew a couple of months ago who he was going to pick?

Maybe it was intuition ...

“Well, actually,” Hextall said, “she asked me.”

Mothers always know first.

About the Author

Rob Parent is the Daily Times sports editor. He also covers the Flyers as well as writing an occasional column. Reach the author at rparent@delcotimes.com
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